Well didn’t this work out well!  The Weekender Crew was my first attempt at an Andrea Mowry pattern – many purchased but never made.  I liked the original aran version of this pattern; The Weekender, but the slash neck put me off so I was delighted that this dk pattern appeared.

Everything about this jumper appealed to me – relaxed, boxy fit, simple and quick to knit and a standard dk tension making it perfect for multiple summer and winter yarns.

What changes did I make?

So away we go – I plumped for size 5 (which was actually size 4 because there’s a size 0 which I found a little odd but hey ho).  My intended garment was to be very roomy therefore perfect over dresses which is what I tend to live in at this time of year.  You begin by working two lots of single rib, for both the back and front, the back being longer than the front to create a split hem feature – these are then joined together for the rest of the body to be worked in the round.  This was when I hit a snag – the intention is to join the front and back ribs into a round and then continue for another few centimetres before commencing the main body fabric.  Never before have I worked a rib like this so it highlighted something very obvious, very quickly.  My single rib worked as a straight fabric and my single rib worked in the round were very different indeed and looked rather a mess.  My choice therefore was to work the additional centimeters required as straight rib on both pieces and then join, or just to be happy with the length they were, join and start the body proper.  Now we all have things in knitting that we’re not madly in love with and single rib is one of mine.  The thought of doing more when I’d already done two sizeable chunks gave me the willies so forgot that bit, joined as they were and cracked on with the body.  The split hem is a nice little design feature but ultimately something I’m not overly fussed about so will probably not bother with in future versions.  The visible seams on the shoulders are a winner and really give the garment a bit of pizazz.  Make sure you don’t do what I did and approach one from the front and one from the back – this looks uneven and rubbish so undid the problem one to make sure they were both with the cast off feature facing front – much better!

Next slight change was the feature seam up the front and back of the garment.  Done on the pattern as a slip stitch, it looks really effective against the reverse stocking stitch it sits on.  Done on my fabric of smooth stocking stitch it was a bit of a waste of time – quick fix was to have a ‘single rib’ in its place ie one knit stitch with a purl either side flowing neatly from the rib – simple and effective!  From there on, once you’re in the swing of it, it’s pretty much plain sailing.  The neck decreases are rather over explained (I’ve always known this technique to be called sloped cast off) but, for those people who like really thorough instructions, it was spot on.  I always pick up my neck stitches before doing sleeves as I find it the most effective way to get the sleeves the right length.  My neck rib is probably shorter than the pattern dictates but, to be honest, I usually get to a point where I’m confident with what I’m doing and thereafter just use the pattern as a guide and tailor the garment to my taste.

One thing that was very curious was that my garment came in way under the metreage the pattern gave – my size was supposed to take 1403 metres but came in somewhere in the region of 1000m, 9 balls of my chosen yarn rather than 13!  I really can’t explain this – we’re all used to have a ball left over at the end of a project but 4 is, in my experience, unknown!  The body and sleeves were somewhat shorter and I omitted the pockets but no way does that account for 4 x 50g balls.  This will have to remain a mystery but it’s obviously good news in the ‘I can make it for cheaper’ sense.

My yarn of choice was West Yorkshire Spinners Elements – 60% Lyocell and 40% Falkland Islands Wool.  I’ve made shop garments in this and it’s beautiful and smooth to work with but I’ve never actually worn it before now.  I’m very happy to report that it’s fabulously soft against skin and has a lovely drape and sheen.  It also has a bloom to it, so I’m quite certain it will need some care in the form of the occasional bobble shave but what yarn doesn’t !?  If you’re going to put money and time into making a garment, it’s a no brainer to me that you’ll want to remove any little pills as they appear – even the nicest yarns pill as they’re made from short fibres plied together and with just a few minutes care every couple of wears, you’ll be easily able to keep your garments looking as beautiful as the day they were finished.

A great pattern and a great yarn making an enjoyable and easy knit and a lovely jumper.  Incidentally, due to the drape of this yarn, the reverse stocking stitch looks much nicer to my eye than it usually does so if I use this yarn again I may choose to knit it as the pattern intends – with the reverse side facing out and the slip stitch feature.  I’m absolutely sure I’ll make this again as it’s my preferred shape and I thoroughly enjoyed the process.  Thank you Andrea Mowry for your design – it’s a corker!